Serial advanced technology attachment input/output increasingly operates in the lowest possible power state, frequently entering a low power, or “device sleep” state. When a device is told to wake up it should wake up quickly and behave as it did before entering the low power state. Thus the device must maintain context across this low power state. Storing security keys in flash during a low power state creates security concerns and problems based on the need to erase flash. Storing security keys in dynamic random access memory is a problem because a typical external dynamic random access memory consumes too much power for a low power state system.
Consequently, it would be advantageous if an apparatus existed that is suitable for storing security keys in a low power, volatile data storage element.